Gary Colabuono Exits Incredible Technologies

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL -- Gary Colabuono announced that he has left his post as marketing director of Incredible Technologies, the maker of Golden Tee Golf and other coin-op videogames. April 24 marked his final day with the company.

During his tenure with the videogame company, Colabuono led the marketing effort that elevated Golden Tee Golf into an international brand. He generated widespread media coverage for Golden Tee, organized live Golden Tee tournaments and worked with the game operating community. These labors exposed the game to millions of people and cultivated thousands of video golfers.

Colabuono was also involved in the launch of IT's Silver Strike Bowling, Target Toss Pro series and new PowerPutt Live. He joined the videogame firm 12 years ago.

Before his time in coin-op, Colabuono made a career in comic books. He opened the first comic-book shop in Chicago's suburbs in 1978. Moondog's (Mount Prospect) grew into a six-store chain with more than $5 million in annual sales; he sold it in 1994. He also owned the Chicago Comic Con show for a while in the early 1990s and moved it from Chicago to Rosemont. A lifelong comics fan, his own collection includes several rare and old comic "ashcans" -- black-and-white prototypes created for the sole purpose of protecting legal claims on a character or property. Only a few copies were made of each issue and they were never meant for public distribution.

The Golden Tee authority is not retiring from coin-op yet. Colabuono has become the exclusive contract representative of IT's golf and bowling games to national marketers who might be interested in sponsoring videogame promotions. The upcoming Guinness Black Lager Golden Tee Sweepstakes, which kicks off on May 1, is his first project. Here, players can visit locations where participating Golden Tees reside and use those games to place their entries; or they can enter at the sweepstakes website.

Colabuono will be organizing and running promotions under GTG Marketing, which specializes in targeting male audiences 21 to 45 through custom integration, product placement and branding programs on Golden Tee. He can be reached at (847) 253-6096 or gcolabuono@comcast.net